Music: Sevitzky to Indiana

Of midwestern orchestras, none has risen so rapidly or so recently as the Indianapolis Symphony. Until 1930 Indianapolis had no resident orchestra, had to depend on occasional visits from the Cleveland, Cincinnati and Detroit bands. That year an old violin teacher named Ferdinand Schaefer brought together 60 unemployed musicians to form the co-operative Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Before an average house of 400 they played five times, earned less than $5 apiece for each concert. At the end of the season the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and the Junior League formed the...